Friday, March 26, 2010

1st Posting - AG Genealogy Library

As requested by Dr. D, thought I'd better get on the ball and start sharing.

First up is progress on the Arroyo Grande Genealogy Library progress. We're almost done cataloging all the books and getting them in a data base on the computer! Just a few more categories left then we're done! When complete, the shelf list will be accessible online at the SLOCGS website. Currently the old list from 2007 is there.
http://kcbx.net/~slogen/libraries.html
(The current shelf list for the SLO branch is on the website.)
We have organized the AG list into smaller groups & have assigned subject categories so searching for particular topics should be easier.

One thing we have learned, though, is that we are quite lacking in many areas. For some states we have no books at all and for others there's less than 5 items. Our international section is also very, very thin. So if anyone has any material that they are finished with and would like to donate it to the AG Library, we would gladly accept it! No sense in cluttering up your home. Plus, if you ever need to use it again, you know where it is!

We've also wondered about the days & hours that the AG Gen Library is open. Traditionally, it's been open on Tuesdays & Thursdays from 1pm - 4pm. Would there be any interest in this library being open during any other days or times? This library is the only genealogy library between Santa Maria & San Luis Obispo so we don't know if people would rather go to the larger libraries or stay local & possibly get some help but not as much resources.

We have met some quite interesting people in the library! One was a direct descendant of John Price. And yesterday a man came in looking for info on his great grandfather who had lived in Pozo, which was originally call San Jose.

Well, that's all for my first post. Hope to see some new faces at the AG Genealogy Library!

2 comments:

  1. Great post Cathy! This library can be a useful resource to family historians.

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  2. I should have commented on the question you raised in your post and I hope others will weigh in with their thoughts. All of us have different needs and different research styles.

    I can see that it is beneficial for "first-timers" to have a genealogy service outlet as close as possible to where they live. However, I personally would prefer to have fewer but more information-rich libraries available.

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